Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i wanted to know what would u do if you had a ball that would not eat regularly would you brumate him or forcefeed? do pythons even brumate? is it safe to?
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Kevin

Ball Pythons, in fact no pythons brumate (hibernate). To do so would mean a horrible slow death to the animal.
You need to address your husbandry (how you maintain the animal) and check it's health.
If it is not eating, then something is wrong with it or it's enivorment.

yea i didnt think pythons brumate at first but just had a thought. so if nothing else works then its better to forcefeed than brumate but then again only forcefeed becuase brumate is not an option. thanks
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Kevin

There is no reason to force feed your ball python. There is no sense in making it live a longer and more stressful life if it is starving to death due to cage conditions.

Ball Pythons are not exempt from cause and effect. There is something that is causing your ball python to not eat. That is what you have to fix, not push food down its throat.

Justin
J. Kobylka Reptiles
www.jkobylkareptiles.com

I think you should just let it go that way it has a better chance of living! J/K Well now you have heat on it right, just wait it out they can go along time before deciding to eat, don't force it.

Actually he's got what appears to be a picky/noneating ch baby - pretty skinny - from the photo he posted I'd guess about 50-60 grams - and it probably wouldn't last any "waiting it out" period. It would probably have a better chance with someone with experience but a teenager with little money or patience who will just "replace it if it dies" - I wouldn't be too surprised if it doesn't make it.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

sorry for taking long to reply. no its my other one this time. the one that i asked for help for is bigger than her sister and now weghs 15 grams more. she ate 2 mice in 6 days apart and would ave taken a 3rd one last night. my other one will get in to strike position and smell the food but wont bite. thats why i asked if i need to force feed. i rather have a stressed ball that eats than one thats slowly killing itself. but thats just me.
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Kevin

How long has it been since she has eaten?
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

month maybe more.
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Kevin

a good question for you what is your cages temp at the warm and cool ends, how many hides do they have, on both the warm and cool sides, and what is the humidity.
are yhey in a high traffic or noisy area?
howoften do you bother them?
the answer to all of these will tell what the problem is

Hello,

I've read all of the replys to this question and nobody has brought up the simple fact that you cannot sustain a ball python by forcefeeding it .....period. Forcefeeding always makes the problem worse. With each time you jam a rodent down the throat of a ball python that does not feel comfortable with eating, you are increasing its stress significantly. The anxiety created by forcefeeding will make the problem worse and will greatly lessen the chance that the snake will ever eat on its own. Don't do it. Try all of the other husbandry remedies that were suggested, such as checking the temps throughout the cage, introducing hides and simply cover the sides of the enclosure to make the area darker and decrease the visibility outside of the cage. Also, if you had not already done so, try feeding at night. But most importantly, if you are handling the snake, please stop until it has been feeding regularily. Premature handling is one of the greatest stressors. All of these suggestions, as well as the others mentioned will reduce the snake's stress and improve its chances of feeding.

If none of the above work, you have the option of assist feeding, which is night and day different from forcefeeding (if it's done correctly). To assist feed, you will take a killed fuzzy or hopper mouse (if the snake is a juvie) and gently press it against the snakes lips until the mouth opens, then you will gently push the food item to the back of the throat and press the jaws together. Do this while simultaniously pulling back gently on the rodent in order to attach the teeth to the skin and make refusal more difficult. After a few tries, the snake will usually give up and VOLUNTARILY swallow the food on its own. Voluntary is the key word, by placing the rodent in the snake's mouth, you will cause the feeding instinct to kick into gear and the snake will do the job itself and the event will cause very little stress. Whereas forcefeeding is extremely stressful and is a guarantee for failure. If this step (assist feeding) proves to be necessary (which, if you follow the other advice, it shouldn't) it usually only takes a couple of assist feeds before the digestive system gets kick started and the feeding instinct returns. Good luck. Don't force feed it....please.

Will

PS - oh yeah, ball pythons don't (shouldn't) brumate, diamond pythons can and do, but balls don't.

I agree with willstill???SP if you try to force feed it may get it down, and it will probably throw it back up, or you will hurt it bad during the process, you should just give them away, both of them, you insist on keeping them together and holding them even though they are obviously stressed, you are definetly not ready for reptiles, I am not trying to be mean, but these are long term commitments, and they will live 20 years if taken care of properly, it is a long life span, I have lost girlfriends because I strive very hard to take care of my reptiles, fixing whatever is wrong, by addressing the problem correctly and making sure that it doesnt happen again, and by being prepared for these situations
good luck to you and your snakes
thanks
tony butler